From motorbike-riding Highland cows to jiggly cranberry jelly, Biscuit Filmworks directors were behind many of the ads that made us laugh out loud in reviewing work for this year's A-List Awards. Biscuit 's creative spanned creative storytelling from established names to stunning debuts from newer talent.

Jeff Low was prolific last year, helming spots for brands old and new as a long list of agencies and clients tapped into his trademark idiosyncratic and surreal comedic style.

For Virgin Media in the U.K., Low depicted a Highland cow on the back of a bike (crafted in collaboration with VFX house Untold Studios) living its best life thanks to Virgin’s fast Wi-Fi, to the tune of "She's Like the Wind" by Patrick Swayze. Another memorable spot was PETA's “Octocurse,” telling humans not eat octopi via a ’70s-era PSA.

In the U.S., it was Low’s crazed holiday jiggle for Ocean Spray that stood out among last year’s holiday messaging.

Andreas Nilsson's innovative work included a catwalk show for online sustainable fashion marketplace Vestiaire Collective and Droga5 London, where all the “models” were puppets made from vintage clothing. He also delivered ads for Uber Eats and Mother London that showed people using their downtime productively as they awaited takeout deliveries. The latter was one of several campaigns for which Nilsson mentored younger talent within Biscuit; among them was Bine Bach, who joined in 2021, helping her to shoot the social media elements.

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Isaiah Seret also played an integral mentorship role this year, working on the short film “The Myth.” Written by Titania Tran and Dan Koo of Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the project explored the insidious “model minority” myth as part of AAPI Heritage Month. Biscuit collaborated with unsigned talent Jackie Bao, a photographer and cinematographer who was new to directing, with Seret providing creative direction and guidance.

Several Biscuit directors also tapped into topical issues. James Rouse delicately explored online safety in a touching back-to-school ad for Vodafone Ireland, while the Glue Society collective collaborated with Mother London on “Defiant Dancer,” an eye-catching installation in London’s Convent Garden honoring Ukraine’s perseverance amid war. It depicted a ballerina posing atop hundreds of sandbags, forming a giant ballet dress. 

Ben Strebel shook up airline advertising with an uplifting and joyous spot for Virgin Atlantic and Lucky Generals that encouraged us to see the world—and each other—differently. Set to a cover of Gloria Gaynor's “I Am What I Am,” it featured a male cabin crew member wearing makeup, a man in a wheelchair with glittering wheels to match and a businesswoman wearing tongue studs. The final scene reveals a female pilot captaining the plane.

See all the winners of Ad Age's 2023 A-List Awards here.